Ahead of the Curve

The lending environment is undergoing a worrying change. Funds that European direct lenders have raised but not yet deployed are at an all-time high and banks in most Western-European jurisdictions have renewed lending following years of reticence after the global financial crisis, leading to increased competition amongst lenders in the small and medium enterprise (SME) market.

As charges are levied equally against all members, those who switch investment funds on a regular basis increase the management costs for members who are more complacent in their investment approach.

Peter Norman, financial markets minister and formerly head of AP7, has therefore suggested that members who create costs will be expected to foot the bill.

The Swedish Pension Authority has been instructed to investigate the effect of any such changes, advising on the positive and negative impact for participants.

The Authority has said that fund management services assisting members in fund changes have not only complicated the system, but that these changes are detrimental due to the costs incurred. It will present its findings in March next year.

Additionally, the government has also asked the Swedish financial services authority, Finansinspektionen, to report on the extent of supervision applied to asset management companies who offer products within the premium pension system.

Meanwhile, it has been announced that Snorre Storset will join Nordea Savings & Asset Management in the new year.

Storset, who recently left his role as CEO of Handelsbanken Liv, the life and pensions arm of the Swedish banking group, will become head of products and operations at Nordea in February.

His role will focus on asset management, and thereby return him to the field from which he joined to take on his role at Handelsbanken Liv. A replacement has yet to be appointed at Handelsbanken.

Finally, 17% of all local and regional authority employees in Sweden are not aware of having occupational pensions arrangements, according to a survey commissioned by AMF, the pensions and insurance provider.

In Sweden, around 90% of the population have some form of occupational pension arrangements through their employers. Despite this, 21% of those surveyed between the ages 21-65 say that they do not have any such arrangements or that they are doubtful that they have occupational pensions.

Half of the surveyed say they would be satisfied with a pension amounting to 71-80% of their current salaries, while others say only much higher pensions would satisfy them.

In particular, out of the local and regional authority employees, 18% want between 91-100% to be happy, compared to 14% of the general population who would want this amount to be satisfied.